MTN on Saturday confirmed that they are being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of Nigeria. The EFCC is probing an alleged shares manipulation scandal since the recent listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). Although MTN confirmed the probing by EFCC, they claim that it was not as a result of any wrongdoing.
A statement released by Uto Ukpanah, MTN Nigeria Secretary, has confirmed the investigation. He said that they received all regulatory approvals required to list their share on the NSE.
MTN has been in the news since the listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. This is because, they listed by Introduction instead of IPO; making it impossible for retail investors to purchase MTN’s shares on the NSE.
Some minority shareholders accused capital market regulators of scheming with MTN Nigeria to manipulate the performance of share prices. They also claimed that MTN Nigeria did not meet the free float of 20% before listing.
See also: Updates following MTN’s Listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange
Sunny Nwosu, the founder of Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria, in an interview with NAN, described the listing as “a fraudulent game.”
They are angry that the NSE allowed MTN a free float of only 5.542 million shares for trading at N90 per share when it listed by way of introduction on the NSE.
The free float requirement for companies on the Alternative Securities Market (ASEM) board is 15% of market capitalization. 20% is prescribed for companies listed on the main and premium board or companies with above N40 billion on the date the exchange receives the issuer’s application.